Timberwolves Trade Rumors: 3 reasons to love the DLo deal

The Minnesota Timberwolves did pull the trigger on a beat-the-clock NBA Trade that gets in with just hours to spare before the NBA Trade Deadline. As reported earlier by multiple sources, the trade will reportedly involve the Minnesota Timberwolves, the LA Lakers, and the Utah Jazz. The deal happened quickly, most likely a direct result of the Lakers being motivated to deal G Russell Westbrook away as quickly as possible after a halftime altercation occured between the player and Lakers head coach Darvin Ham:

That motivated the Lakers to lure other teams to the table. So what brings the Jazz and the TImberwolves into the deal?  For the Timberwolves, the team and DLo were reportedly far apart on any extension negotiations, and the team needed a true point guard to run their floor. While Conley is not as hot of a scorer right now, he is a far better facilitator, a player who can get the basketball into the hands of the open shooter.

What lured the Jazz to this deal?

For the Utah Jazz, this is another opportunity to acquire a first-round draft pick, offload two promising players who were helping the team win, and eventually buy out Russell Westbrook, allowing him to sign on with another team at a more fairly compensated rate.

And so, the LA Lakers land their second and third former Timberwolves players, with both Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt now joining former teammate Patrick Beverley on the Lakers roster.

Will this help the Timberwolves? We’ll find out soon enough.   But just off the face of it, I’m feeling very good about this one.  Why, well now, that’s a great question, and I’m all set to answer it in the next three slides.

Reason III: Timberwolves get their PG

The Timberwolves paused at pulling the trigger on the trade deal as the team attempted to negotiate the best value from trading away D’Angelo Russell, and were even reported earlier today that they were actively negotiating with multiple teams. It appears that the package of Mike Conley Jr. and a second-round pick were enough to make the deal happen. Keep in mind that at the time of this article, no compensation details were available. Due to that, the compensation package to the Timberwolves and actually all teams involved could change drastically as new details become available.

What does the trade look like with what we know right now?

ESTIMATED TRADE DETAILS

(will be updated in a future article as details become available

Of course, we do not yet know what years the picks will occur, nor whether or not any protection might apply to the first-round pick being sent to the Jazz. But for a moment, let’s focus on the sheer mechanics of the new Timberwolves lineup and why that will be an upgrade.

For starters, let’s not convert this into a D’Angelo Rusell suckfest. He is a great player, and the LA Lakers believe that he will become a third leg to their NBA Championship triad, paired with Lebron James and Anthony Davis. Great player? At times. He has been an offensive juggernaut at times, getting hot from the perimeter in such a way that he can carry the team on the scoreboard until other players find ways to score.

But . . . that’s the first problem. The Timberwolves hoped that DLo might be the guy to run the field, like many point guards do, and get the ball into the open shooter’s hands. The player who has been hurt the most is center Rudy Gobert, who must rely upon the point guard/forward to get him the ball to allow him to score. Point forward Kyle Anderson has been able to do so. D’Angelo Russell has not. Mike Conley Jr. can, and makes him a player who will help the Timberwolves roster overall, not just by what he brings to the table.

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Reason II: Timberwolves land a crucial draft pick

The Minnesota Timberwolves have one of the best NBA Draft executives in the league, President Tim Connelly. Ironically, the team exhausted many of their future draft picks almost immediately upon hiring him to lead the team.

The most immediate need and the understandable focus fanbase toward the Timberwolves’ future draft picks likely begins with the 2023 NBA Draft. The Timberwolves are currently scheduled to hold one second-round pick, the New York Knicks’ second-round pick acquired when the Timberwolves traded back from the 40th overall pick to the 45th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft with the Charlotte Hornets.

Timberwolves need draft picks

Right now, that draft pick is scheduled to occur as the 50th overall pick.

If the compensation package for the Minnesota Timberwolves is correct, and the team lands a second-round pick from the Lakers in this deal, that could be welcome news indeed. While the success or failure of the Lakers the rest of the way will have a significant impact on where that draft pick falls, it is currently projected to be the 37th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.

That’s significantly better than drafting once at 50.

We’ve already seen Connelly at work once in the 2022 NBA Draft, where he landed both SG Wendell Moore Jr., PF Josh Minott, and international PG Matteo Spagnolo. So far, both Moore and Minott are at or better than expected. With another pair of second-round picks in 2023, the Minnesota Timberwolves can expect good things to come as well.

Reason I: Timberwolves get some vital financial flexibility

Another aspect of the Timberwolves trade is the amount of financial flexibility that the team now realizes with the trade. If the team was unable to extend D’Angelo Russell, which the latest reports indicate was becoming increasingly difficult, the team not only loses the player but the salary placeholder for his vacancy. That is a huge consideration as the Timberwolves need the means to preserve the financial means to extend both Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels.

The financial aspects of D’Angelo Russell, particularly as the two sides grew further and further apart, was more than enough motivation to inspire the Timberwolves front office to pull the trigger on this deal.

Now the Timberwolves’ front office has a less costly point guard, who has significant experience at optimizing the offense of center Rudy Gobert, and they needn’t concern themselves with navigating the perils of the NBA Salary Cap as the team has no placeholder for the $31 million currently paid to D’Angelo Russell this year.

This trade may also play a role in the Timberwolves belief that an extension for backup center Naz Reid is indeed possible, as the team is saving a significant amount of salary dollars in lightening the budgetary burden of so many expensive players.

Due to the NBA salary cap restrictions, teams often focus on maxing out no more than three players on the roster. With the team already committed to Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns, and with the extension of Anthony Edwards coming up, the team needed to trade D’Angelo Russell before the NBA Trade Deadline.

A step forward or a step backward? I’ll let you decide. But as more me? I love this move by the Timberwolves’ front office. Rather than set it and forget it, the Timberwolves are proving a willingness to course correct throughout the season.

And that is why I like the trade most of all